Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Monday in Asia, the Associated Press reported. Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 52 cents to $80.18 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.49 to settle at $79.66. In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 1.61 cents to $2.051 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.21 cent to $2.20 a gallon. Natural gas prices fell 4.4 cents to $4.769 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was up 48 cents at $78.07 on the ICE futures exchange.
